Now or later? The theory of planned behaviour and fertility intentions

We use the theory of planned behavior to investigate the role of attitudes, norms and perceived behavioural control on short-term and long-term fertility intentions, using data from Norway (N = 1,307). There is some evidence that, net of other background variables, positive scores on these factors makes it easier to establish concrete childbearing plans, especially among parents. Subjective norms are particularly important among both parents and childless adults, while perceptions of behavioural control have no additional effect once the actual life situation is taken into account. Attitudes are not important in decisions about the timing of becoming a parent, probably because the main issue for childless adults is not the timing, but the decision to have a child or not

Realization of fertility intentions by different time frames

This paper focuses on the realization of positive fertility intentions with different time frames. The analyses are based on a unique combination of survey data and information from Norwegian administrative registers on childbearing in the years following the complete selected sample. Guided by the theoretical and empirical framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the results suggest that a fertility intention's time frame is relevant for childbearing behaviour, but the patterns are somewhat different for respondents who were childless at the time of the interview compared to those who already had children. Overall, childless were less likely to realize their fertility intentions than parents. Following the TPB, childless may underestimate the difficulty of acting on their intentions and therefore have more difficulty realizing their intentions, versus parents who take into account their ability to manage another child. The results also show that childless with an immediate fertility intention are more likely to succeed than those with a longer-term intention. Likewise, parents with an immediate fertility intention are more likely to realize their intention during the two first years after the interview, but after four years the childbearing rate was higher among those with longer-term fertility intentions

They all wanted one but who did get one: The theory of planned behaviour and the realisation of fertility intentions

No abstract availabl

Childbearing intentions in a low fertility context: the case of Romania

This paper applies the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to find out the predictors of fertility intentions in Romania, a low-fertility country. We analyse how attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control relate to the intention to have a child among childless individuals and one-child parents. Principal axis factor analysis confirms which items proposed by the Generation and Gender Survey (GGS 2005) act as valid and reliable measures of the suggested theoretical socio-psychological factors. Four parity-specific logistic regression models are applied to evaluate the relationship between the socio-psychological factors and childbearing intentions. Social pressure emerges as the most important aspect in fertility decision-making among childless individuals and one-child parents, and positive attitudes towards childbearing are a strong component in planning for a child. This paper also underlines the importance of the region-specific factors when studying childbearing intentions: planning for the second child significantly differs among the development regions, representing the cultural and socio-economic divisions of the Romanian territory

Fertility Ideals of Women and Men Across the Life Course

This paper explores the stability of women’s and men’s fertility preferences across the life course. The data come from the first six waves of the German Family Panel (pairfam), which span the period from 2008/2009 until 2013/2014. In our analysis, fertility preferences are measured using the following question: “Under ideal circumstances, how many children would you like to have?” The average number cited by both women and men is 2.2. With rising age, this number declines modestly. Relying on fixed-effects modelling, we find that neither partnership status nor economic circumstances have any causal effect on fertility preferences. However, as the number of children a respondent has increases, his or her ideal number of children is also likely to grow. Thus, fertility ideals appear to undergo changes over time, and are adjusted in line with the size of the respondent’s own family

The theory of planned behavior and the realization of fertility intentions

The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the determinant elements of the Theory of Planned Behavior and realization of fertility intentions. We focus on the time-frame of people’s fertility intentions and ask whether a different time-frame of the intention leads to different outcomes. We combine data from the Norwegian Generations and Gender Survey (2007) with information from administrative registers, meaning that we have longitudinal birth histories after the survey for the entire original sample. Preliminary results suggest that parents realize their fertility intentions more often then childless, regardless of the time-frame of their intention. Childless with a short-term fertility intention have a higher hazard ratio for becoming a parent compared to those with a long-term intention. In line with the Theory of Planned Behavior, attitudes, perceived behavioral control and subjective norms affect on the time-frame of fertility intentions, but not the realization of the fertility intentions

How expected life and partner satisfaction affect women's fertility outcomes: The role of uncertainty in intentions

Using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB ) as a framework this paper investigates the role of uncertainty in fertility intentions in order to improve prediction of fertility outcomes. Using two waves of Italian data from GGS, it shows the existence of a clear relationship between the stability of intention to have a child and realization of intention: uncertainty in a stated intention results in significantly lower realization of that intention. In addition, the results show that beliefs that having a child will improve life satisfaction and partner relationship have a positive effect on the stability of intentions to have a child

Differences in childbearing by time frame of fertility intention: A study using survey and register data from Norway

This paper focuses on the realization of positive fertility intentions with different time frames. The analyses are based on a unique combination of survey data and information from Norwegian administrative registers on childbearing in the years following the complete selected sample. Guided by the theoretical and empirical framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the results suggest that a fertility intention’s time frame is relevant for childbearing behaviour, but the patterns are somewhat different for respondents who were childless at the time of the interview compared to those who already had children. Overall, childless respondents were less likely to realize their fertility intentions than parents. Following the TPB, childless individuals may underestimate the difficulty of acting on their intentions and therefore have more difficulty realizing their intentions, versus parents who take into account their ability to manage another child. The results also show that childless individuals with an immediate fertility intention are more likely to succeed than those with a longer-term intention. Likewise, parents with an immediate fertility intention are more likely to realize their intention during the two first years after the interview, but after four years the childbearing rate was higher among those with longer-term fertility intentions

Now or later? Insights from the theory of planned behaviour into differences in short-term and long-term fertility intentions.

We use the theory of planned behavior to investigate the role of attitudes, norms and perceived behavioural control on short-term and long-term fertility intentions, using data from Norway (N = 1,307). There is some evidence that, net of other background variables, positive scores on these factors makes it easier to establish concrete childbearing plans, especially among parents. Subjective norms are particularly important among both parents and childless adults, while perceptions of behavioural control have no additional effect once the actual life situation is taken into account. Attitudes are not important in decisions about the timing of becoming a parent, probably because the main issue for childless adults is not the timing, but the decision to have a child or not